Brett Kern

The Titans have reached a long-term extension with punter Brett Kern, the club announced today. It’s a four-year worth $12.55MM, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, who adds Kern will receive a $2.2MM signing bonus.

Kern had already been under contract for 2019, so his extension will keep him in Tennessee through the 2023 campaign. In terms of new money, Kern will now earn roughly $3.14MM per season, a slight bump over his previous annual average of $3MM. That annual salary will keep him at sixth place among punters in yearly pay.

Kern, 33, originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2008, spending parts of two seasons in Denver before being claimed off waivers by the Titans in 2009. He’s now been in Tennessee for more than a decade, and posted his best performances in recent years, earning a second-team All-Pro nod in 2017 and Pro Bowl berths in both 2017 and 2018.

Last year, Kern ranked eighth in the league with a 41.7-yard net punting average and dropped 39 punts inside his opponents’ 20-yard line, good for second in the NFL. According to Football Outsiders’ special teams metrics, the Titans’ punt unit as a whole ranked roughly average, finishing 15th in point of field position added.

Brett Kern‘s been the Titans‘ punter in every season this decade, and the Titans made a move to ensure that happens in each subsequent year in the 2010s. The Titans and Kern agreed on a new five-year contract, according to a tweet from The Tennesseean’s Jim Wyatt.

The deal is reportedly worth $15MM, per ESPN’s Adam Caplan (Twitter link). That nearly triples the 29-year-old punter’s salary and puts him in the top 10 at the position on a per-year basis.

Kern began his career when he signed with the Broncos as an undrafted free agent out of Toledo in 2008, but Denver waived him in 2009, and the Titans claimed him soon after.

Late last month, when I considered the idea of the Titans making use of their franchise tag this year, I singled out edge defender Derrick Morgan and punter Brett Kern as the likeliest candidates, but suggested that the club was unlikely to tag anyone. General manager Ruston Webster confirmed as much today, as Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com writes. “I don’t see it as in play,” Webster said of the franchise and transition tags, suggesting that if the Titans decide to bring back players like Morgan, Kern, and kicker Ryan Succop, they’ll simply negotiate new deals rather than locking them up with a tag.

Here’s more from out of the NFL’s two South divisions:

Longtime Titans tackle Michael Roos still hasn’t decided whether or not he’ll play in 2015, a source tells Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com (Twitter link). Presumably, Tennessee is planning to move on without Roos, since there’s a good chance he retires, and he’s eligible for free agency anyway.

The Panthers have promoted secondary coach Steve Wilks, who also leads the team’s pass defense, to the position of assistant head coach, the club announced today (via Twitter). Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that colleagues believe Wilks has a future as a head coach.

Speaking of Jackson, the Texans corner appeared on SiriusXM NFL Radio (SoundCloud link) today and indicated that he and the team hope to work out a new agreement prior to the start of next month’s free agent period. Jackson added that he wouldn’t be thrilled with the idea of being franchised, since he’d prefer more long-term security, though I’d be surprised if Houston used its tag on him anyway, given the cost.

Rob Bironas was planning to continue his NFL career before his unexpected death earlier this week, according to Titans punter Brett Kern. “I talked to him on Friday, because he had the workout with the Lions, and he was so excited that it went well. I told him I was proud of him,’ and that’s the last thing I told him,” Kern told reporters, including Jim Wyatt of The Tennesseean. “He was really looking forward to signing with another team.” More from around the NFL..

James Harrison‘s deal with the Steelers is for the veteran’s minimum, minus the three games already played, tweets Ed Bouchette of the Post-Gazette. Including his $65K bonus, he’ll collect just over $851K for this season.

There’s a chance Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph could be placed on the IR-DTR list, but “probably not,” head coach Mike Zimmer told reporters, including Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune (on Twitter).

Free agent cornerback Champ Bailey feels healthy and tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter) that he is willing to play nickel or safety if that’s what it takes to land a job somewhere.

Teammate Tyvon Branch is headed to the IR, but the Raiders got some good news on teammate Rod Streater. His agent tells Bill Williamson of ESPN.com (on Twitter) that Streater only requires minor surgery and hopes to return in 4-5 weeks.

The Titans have a number of veterans that are coming to the end of their contracts after 2014, and Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean gives his opinion of who the Titans should work to extend and who they should wait until after next season to decide on. Wyatt wants the team to extend Jurrell Casey and Brett Kern sooner rather than later, but asks the team to show patience with some of their other veteran players.

Here are a few other stories from around the NFL:

The Jaguars‘ pass rush is set to be much improved in 2014, and Ryan O’Halloran of Jacksonville.com is absolutely buying into they hype. His reasoning for believing in this unit is simple. The pass rush can’t get any worse, and the key additions should be able to make a difference immediately. Although Dekoda Watson only had three sacks in 60 games for the Buccaneers, the Jaguars believe he has unique pass-rushing skills, and Chris Clemons will be able to provide some pressure as well. While Red Bryant is not known as a sack artist, his contributions in the running game will put the team in better shape on passing downs, another area where they struggled recently.

While there has not been a lot of positivity surrounding Saints‘ tight end Jimmy Graham since losing his grievance regarding his franchise tag, Drew Brees hasn’t forgotten Graham’s value to the league, writes Julie Boudwin of NOLA.com.“Jimmy Graham has revolutionized the position,” said Brees. “He’s a guy who is so talented at so many things you know and obviously he’s a big part of our offense and I hope that they’re able to reach a long-term agreement here sooner than later. At the end of the day, this is part of the process and I think we all understand that.”

“He is my jack of all trades,” Jefferson said. “He knows all the positions. I can plug him in anywhere, he hustles, blocks, and is a great teammate.

“He has a great chance, but there is a lot of competition at this position. Right now, I’m not making any predictions, but as a coach I can’t live without him. That’s how much he means to me as a player and a person.”

The holdup over first-round pick Taylor Lewan‘s contract is likely regarding roster bonuses, writes ProFootballTalk.com’s Mike Florio. The offensive tackle could be looking to replace his fully-guaranteed base salaries with roster bonuses paid out during training camp. As Florio points out, this is similar to what happened with the team’s first-round pick in 2013, Chance Warmack. Warmack ended up receiving the type of contract that Lewan is seeking.

Rookie quarterback Zach Mettenberger is making it his goal to be the starter “from day one,” he said on SiriusXM NFL Radio (via Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com). “I’m going to make Jake work that much harder…cause I’m coming everyday. And I’m bringing my best effort and my hardest work to the facility everyday to show that I should be the guy playing.” Mettenberger clarified that he isn’t trying to start a quarterback controversy, claiming that “any guy worth his salt” would have the same approach.